Downtown Hartford is in the midst of an important revival. Business is picking up. The Adriaen’s Landing project on the riverfront, including a brand-new convention center and hotel, is set for completion next year. The Hartford Civic Center Mall is undergoing major renovations, and new apartments are being built in the area, as well.

This week’s opening of the Charter Oak Marketplace, though, is an especially welcome piece of news. It’s a sign that Hartford’s renaissance is spreading beyond downtown and into communities that have been hit hardest by tough economic times. It will create 800 new jobs, most of which will go to local residents. It will fill a critical gap in the community by giving residents of the Behind the Rocks Neighborhood a convenient and safe place to shop, eat, and spend time with family and friends. Next to the retail stores, a new federal Job Corps center will serve the community by providing a place for young people to learn the skills they will need to start a career. And if the Charter Oak Marketplace proves to be a success, more development in the area should follow.

It’s important, though, to recognize that a new shopping center is only one small piece of the puzzle. If we want to create communities where each and every man and woman can get a good, well-paying job, that means giving everyone an equal opportunity to succeed from day one.

We need safe streets, so merchants and residents can go about their business with a sense of security. We need to invest in our schools, from early childhood all the way through college, so each and every child can have the benefits of a good education. We need to maintain after-school programs so children can have a safe place to spend their time while their parents are at work. We need to do our best to provide each and every family with safe and affordable housing. We need to fix our heath care system so everyone, regardless of where they work or how much money they have, can see a doctor if they become sick.

Finally, we need to take steps that will create the jobs of tomorrow. The new jobs at Charter Oak will help, especially in today’s struggling economy. But what will help even more are concrete investments in our home-state industries, especially manufacturing. For years, manufacturing has been the source of thousands of good jobs in Connecticut – jobs that generally offer higher salaries, better benefits, and more worker protections than jobs at a mall. It’s good news when national retail chains come to Hartford. But it’s even better news when the Hartford economy creates jobs on its own. If we enact policies that support our local industries and businesses – through targeted tax breaks, small business loans, and investments in research and development – we can make our local economy stronger, more secure, and more resilient.

If we make the right choices – at the local, state, and federal level – then we can keep Hartford moving in the right direction. The Charter Oak Marketplace is a good start. Now, we need to do even more.